Mark Papermaster and Apple part ways, possibly due to iPhone

The former IBM executive that Apple fought so hard to get has now left Apple, …

Mark Papermaster, the former IBM exec who sparked a lawsuit when he tried to move to Apple in 2008, has now left Apple for greener pastures. The New York Times confirmed with Apple that Papermaster was no longer working there, though it was unclear whether he had quit or was let go. Papermaster was Senior VP of Devices Hardware Engineering, and in charge of the hardware for the iPhone 4.

IBM had offered Papermaster a year's salary to stay away from Apple when he decided to leave Big Blue, and eventually filed a lawsuit over it. In early 2009, Apple announced that the litigation had "been resolved" and that Papermaster would report directly to Steve Jobs starting in April.

That makes his tenure at Apple a hair over a year and three months—not exactly a long time for someone Apple fought so hard to get (Apple's senior VP of Macintosh hardware engineering, Bob Mansfield, will take his place). The Times postulates that Papermaster left as a result of the iPhone 4's antenna issues, and it's not a bad theory. Unfortunately, it's a theory that will go unconfirmed—Papermaster would not comment on his departure.

Update: The Wall Street Journal claims that Papermaster had a "falling out" with Steve Jobs over corporate culture differences and had lost Jobs' confidence "months ago."

After the IBM lawsuit, Papermaster only started in April 2009 - hard to believe that the iPhone 4 wasn't well into development by then. Secondly, Papermaster's specialty is processor design, and may not have been an ideal fit to oversee hardware engineering.

As big a blunder the antenna problem might have been, I have a hard time seeing someone being fired as a direct result. You don't let a hard-to-get employee go on the first mistake, you throw them out when you think he'll keep continuing to make them, right?

But who knows how much Papermaster is in the iPhone 4 anyway. It certainly was a big step up in engineering compared to the 3GS, though. Whoever is ultimately responsible for that phone shows a lot of promise for the future, antenna problems or not. It would be a loss for Apple to lose them.

I disagree. You DO let an employee go on his first big mistake, if that employee is responsible for making product design decisions. Just one bad design decision can ruin a company's reputation in no time. You're not allowed the chance to make two of those mistakes.

I know. I own my own design company, and I've fired myself several times.

As big a blunder the antenna problem might have been, I have a hard time seeing someone being fired as a direct result. You don't let a hard-to-get employee go on the first mistake, you throw them out when you think he'll keep continuing to make them, right?

If you make a super-egotistical boss look even a little bad, you're out.

As big a blunder the antenna problem might have been, I have a hard time seeing someone being fired as a direct result.

+1

Especially when something like the antenna was apparently considered and discussed, analyzed, criticized, reconsidered, and ultimately approved from the very top. Firing the guy after all that because of what steve describes as a non-issue? I'm skeptical.

More likely, it seems to me, the guy wasn't a good fit, and when the shit hit the fan over everything, the internal politics deteriorated, and he buggered off, with nobody sad to see him go.

Besides, like the girl who ditches her boyfriend for you, are you surprised when she ditches you for someone else?

Papermaster was never included in any of the release videos for the iPhone 4 and Mansfield was instead included, and as the "VP of Hardware" (dropping the Mac part). Unless Apple knew about this problem well in advance of launch, leaving retrospectively "because" of it smells of BS. It may be that Papermaster just wasn't a fit for the Apple culture, or myriad other reasons. Unless he (or someone who would know) says why, there is no point speculating.

Seems like the Times has a fallacy of false cause in their reporting, and one I'm sad to see Ars echoing (even if marked as postulation). There is antenna-gate. Mark Papermaster has left Apple. Therefore, Mark Papermaster left because of antenna-gate.

iPhone 4 gets better reception and less returns than the last 3GS model which had no "antenna gate" story about it. Anyone in doubt should go verify for themselves. Don't trust tech websites, and certainly don't base your judgement of significant products on posts of anonymous people at internet forums.

This iPhone 4 antenna thing is the biggest load of crap i've ever seen propagated on the internet...

Jobs loved the aesthetic design and refused to believe there was a problem.

I still love my iPhone 4 though.

Complete speculation. Maybe Jobs expressed concern about the antenna, and Papermaster assured him that it would be fine. Or maybe things happened as you described. But really, neither you nor I know who is ultimately to blame.

iPhone 4 gets better reception and less returns than the last 3GS model which had no "antenna gate" story about it. Anyone in doubt should go verify for themselves. Don't trust tech websites, and certainly don't base your judgement of significant products on posts of anonymous people at internet forums.

This iPhone 4 antenna thing is the biggest load of crap i've ever seen propagated on the internet...

Man I'm sorry but it's just not. (A load of crap) My iPhone 4 is so much worse than my 3GS. The dropped calls has become a serious business issue for me.

I did just get my bumper case in the mail though, so I'm hoping it will resolve the problem. The only thing that sucks is that I prefer my phones naked, so I'm bummed I have to have it wear this condom. I never had any kind of case on my previous iPhones.

What's really sad is that I'm not in one of the ATT crap zones, and haven't had any problems with bad quality voice and data in the last 3 years. This is 100% a phone issue. Probably doesn't help that I'm left handed.

Man I'm sorry but it's just not. (A load of crap) My iPhone 4 is so much worse than my 3GS. The dropped calls has become a serious business issue for me.

Personally, I'd say the antenna thing is one of those flaws that got a lot of traction due to knee jerk reactions and pseudo-invesitgative reporting on tech web sites and amateurs posting their videos on You Tube. Coupled with a PR disaster CEO not thinking before he typed out a typically curt email it got even worse. But as a true issue affecting the usability of the phone, especially if a bumper is used, I'd agree it is an overblown issue.

HOWEVER ... the proximity sensor is a different issue and may be what you are experiencing. Hopfully they can resolve that in a software update.

I still love my iP4, works very well. Warts? As an early adopter I am shocked, SHOCKED I tell you, that I may have to live with them from time to time.

Back on thread, maybe Papermaster got his phone out the door, got the deployment issues stabilized, and decided to take his big bag of cash and go do something else, like help dig latrines in impoverished countries??

I did just get my bumper case in the mail though, so I'm hoping it will resolve the problem. The only thing that sucks is that I prefer my phones naked, so I'm bummed I have to have it wear this condom. I never had any kind of case on my previous iPhones.

[insert joke here about "phone sex"]

Quote:

I still love my iP4, works very well. Warts? As an early adopter I am shocked, SHOCKED I tell you, that I may have to live with them from time to time.

So first there was no Antenna problem. Then there was a software fix. Then there was a press conference claiming every phone has the same "behavior" - not a problem. Then there were free cases just in case you had a problem. Now there is a whole living person (who happened to be in charge of Antenna design) fired over iPhone Antenna problems.

Hey wait! I know! Let's have Larry and Sergey take over Apple for a refreshing change. Then Eric Schmidt can take over Facebook (he'd fit right in) and the Zuckster could take over Google (double fit). Give Mark Papermaster charge of Yahoo! and move Carol Bartz over to HP. There. Oh, and Steve Jobs? He'd make a good computer operator. I'm sure IBM'd have a good slot for him on graveyard shift.

I could see Papermaster's leaving being related to Antennagate. Not so much because of the antenna itself, but because the subsequent investigation into the cause of the problem could lead to things coming to light that wouldn't otherwise. Things like memos from engineers that directly contradict things Papermaster may have told the board, or things like budget line items that were spent on something other than what they were budgeted for, etc. Things that the board might not want to push as long as everything was running smoothly, but not so much when finger pointing begins.

Now there is a whole living person (who happened to be in charge of Antenna design) fired over iPhone Antenna problems.

What gives?

Papermaster's experience seems to be in semiconductor design. How on earth you extrapolated that to antenna design, I don't know. But hey, even if it's false it fits in with your whole antenna conspiracy theory, so you go fight the power, brother.

This is bad reporting. Papermaster was supposedly brought in for chip design. Why would he be fired for the attenna? IBM sure as he'll didn't sue to stop his hiring by Apple for his knowledge in thier super secret mobile attennas. And as someone else posted, the iPhone 4 attenna was probably already in pipeline when he was fiinnaly brought in. Bad reporting by the Times and this website for regurgitating it. It is this kind of echo chamber reporting that gives non news stories legs in the news cycle. Worse. Still it slanders a guy with blame for a problem he wasn't part of . Shame on arstechnica for not researching this story before reposting it as news.

I did just get my bumper case in the mail though, so I'm hoping it will resolve the problem. The only thing that sucks is that I prefer my phones naked, so I'm bummed I have to have it wear this condom. I never had any kind of case on my previous iPhones.

I really don't understand people who don't uses cases with their several-hundred-dollar devices. No matter how careful you are, you're going to drop it at some point.

BS. At the end of the day Steve Jobs is the one who OK's or axes a product. I know it, you know it, and everyone at Apple knows it. The simple fact is Apple's insane security is partly to blame here. If they would test their products more comprehensive instead of playing this cloak and dagger BS with having only a limited number of units being sent out for testing to partners this wouldn't happen. But of course Jobs is never...NEVER wrong and someone else needs to take the fall for this.

I did just get my bumper case in the mail though, so I'm hoping it will resolve the problem. The only thing that sucks is that I prefer my phones naked, so I'm bummed I have to have it wear this condom. I never had any kind of case on my previous iPhones.

I really don't understand people who don't uses cases with their several-hundred-dollar devices. No matter how careful you are, you're going to drop it at some point.

1.75 years in and I've dropped it twice. The difference is that the screen on my smartphone doesn't scratch if you look at it wrong, and the back isn't designed to first and foremost look pretty, then be able to take a beating. That is the difference between Apple and everyone else. Form over function. Other handsets do not need cases in may cases because a scratch on hardened plastic doesn't show up at all. But of course they are cheap because its plastic instead of metal with a mirrored coating.

I did just get my bumper case in the mail though, so I'm hoping it will resolve the problem. The only thing that sucks is that I prefer my phones naked, so I'm bummed I have to have it wear this condom. I never had any kind of case on my previous iPhones.

I really don't understand people who don't uses cases with their several-hundred-dollar devices. No matter how careful you are, you're going to drop it at some point.

I don't understand people who finds it acceptable to have to put a case on a several-hundred-dollar device.

My phone cost 15USD unlocked, and it doesn't need a case, and I have indeed dropped it several times. All that happends, at worst, is that the battery drops out so I have to reinsert it and set the time and date again.

My car cost $10,000. I can drive it over unpaved roads, and I can fill it up with the cheap stuff.

If I pay $100,000 for a car, I better be able to drive it over frickin' boulders, and fill it up with low-grade gas!

Oh wait...

Exactly. People don't buy Ferraris because they last long. A Volvo is/was known as the tank of the automobile world, and it's definitely not in the high-range of prices. It's sad that luxury is often associated with being fragile, but that's what you get.

This is bad reporting. Papermaster was supposedly brought in for chip design. Why would he be fired for the attenna? IBM sure as he'll didn't sue to stop his hiring by Apple for his knowledge in thier super secret mobile attennas. And as someone else posted, the iPhone 4 attenna was probably already in pipeline when he was fiinnaly brought in. Bad reporting by the Times and this website for regurgitating it. It is this kind of echo chamber reporting that gives non news stories legs in the news cycle. Worse. Still it slanders a guy with blame for a problem he wasn't part of . Shame on arstechnica for not researching this story before reposting it as news.

I can't buy it either. It was previously reported that the iPhone 4 design was in the works for over 2 years, so how can he be responsible for the design?